Let us not forget Russian American, Alina Sheykhet every year on July 7
and October 8. We will not forget the way you live on this earth.
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Alina
Sheykhet
(July
7, 1997 to October 8, 2018)
|
Lantern launch
at UPG honors slain former student
Jeff
Himler | Monday, Oct. 8, 2018, 10:45 p.m.
Valerie Fernandez traveled 1,000 miles
to watch 40 paper lanterns drift into the sky Monday night at the University of
Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus.
The lanterns were in memory of
Fernandez’s friend and former roommate Alina Sheykhet, who was found murdered
in her Oakland home near the university’s main campus a year ago.
Fernandez, 21, who roomed with Sheykhet
during her freshman year at Pitt-Greensburg, came from her home in Miami to be
part of the memorial.
“We very quickly became
inseparable and best friends,”
Fernandez said of Sheykhet. “She’s missed greatly.
Me traveling a thousand miles away means nothing compared to the love and
support that Alina and her family gave to me. They will forever be family to
me.”
Current students joined Sheykhet’s
friends and family members outside Chambers Hall to release the lanterns.
Sheykhet was found dead by her parents
on Oct. 8, 2017, in her Oakland home. Her ex-boyfriend, also a former
Pitt-Greensburg student, is accused of killing her.
Yan and Elly Sheykhet had gone to pick
up their daughter for a cancer awareness walk that Sunday when they found her
bludgeoned to death in her bedroom.
Matthew Darby, 22, charged with homicide
in connection with her killing, faces a trial date early next year.
Sheykhet, 20, a University of Pittsburgh
junior, completed two semesters at Pitt-Greensburg before transferring to the
main campus for the fall 2017 semester.
A serious injury to her knee in a high
school ballet class sparked an interest in physical therapy.
Sheykhet’s family moved to the
Pittsburgh area from Ivanovo, Russia, when she was 4. She graduated from
Montour High School in 2015.
Brian Root, assistant director of
housing at the Greensburg campus, advised Sheykhet
and other students involved in the university’s Outdoor Adventure and Community
Service group. OACS sponsored Monday evening’s event, along with the campus’
student senate.
Root recalled that
Sheykhet enjoyed helping at local animal shelters. “She loved projects like
that,” he said. “She loved kids, and she loved animals just as much.”
Members of Sheykhet’s family
participated in Monday’s event but declined comment because of the pending
criminal trial.
As an initial way to commemorate the
slain student’s life, the campus community last year collected money that was
used to place a rocking chair, engraved in her memory, in the campus library,
Root said.
A local team walked in Sheykhet’s memory
in last April’s annual Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event at Greensburg’s Offutt
Field. Men are encouraged, out of empathy, to wear high heels for the walk,
which raises money for Greensburg’s Blackburn Center, which serves victims of
domestic and sexual violence.
The lantern release also was dedicated
to all victims of domestic violence. Literature on the topic and advocacy
bracelets were available throughout the day at the campus’ student center.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff
writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@tribweb.com or via
Twitter @jhimler_news.
INTERNET
SOURCE: https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/14158760-74/lantern-launch-at-upg-honors-slain-former-student
 |
|
Alina
Sheykhet
(July
7, 1997 to October 8, 2018)
|
OTHER LINKS:
Death Penalty To Be Sought For Suspect
In Pitt Student’s Murder
February 15, 2018 at 2:18 pm
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Allegheny County district
attorney plans to pursue the death penalty against a man accused of murdering
his ex-girlfriend.
VICTIM: Alina Sheykhet (7/7/1997 TO
10/8/2017)
RELATED:
- POLICE: Death of Pitt student was not "random act of violence."
- RAW VIDEO: Student found murdered in Oakland
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